Leveraging video training to accelerate and make consistent your onboarding is a huge advantage that pays dividends in all the important areas: Simplicity, speed, consistency, and making that solid first impression, “yes, we’re ready for you Ms. A Player.”

Leveraging video training to accelerate and make consistent your onboarding is a huge advantage that pays dividends in all the important areas: Simplicity, speed, consistency, and making that solid first impression, “yes, we’re ready for you Ms. A Player.”

It’s not every day a robot takes over some high-end, knowledge and nuance-intensive job…but that day is almost here. And as the stats keep rolling in, even the most conservative prognosticators are painting a mildly dystopian workplace portrait.

The biggest sign of the coming apocalypse? Apparently the sex-bot industry is already booming.

But in all seriousness, the white-collar jobs, Peter Drucker’s “knowledge workers” and the so called, “protected careers” like attorneys, doctors, and financial advisors are right in the line of obsolescence in the advent of the Ai Age. The big difference between previous innovations that brought the fear-mongers out on street corners with “The End is Near” sandwich boards, and today is simply that the tech is different.

For your know-it-all co-worker who says, “Robots aren’t coming for my job. Just look at all the hoopla over the ATM machine! All that fear and what happened? We ended up with more bank jobs”, I offer this simple distinction: ATM machines couldn’t learn. Ai can.

Forrester Research says over the next decade we’ll lose 16% of our jobs to Ai but with new job creation the net loss will only be 7%. Hey awesome, that’s only 10M jobs. That’s like – say - the population of Michigan. I suppose that’s ok. We’ll turn Michigan into one big water park.

But, let’s assume for the sake of the argument that Ai is coming. Assume it’s happening. Superior intelligence, tireless, perfect workers who don’t need 30-minute potty breaks, have sick aunts, or get bitchy because they don’t have ergonomic desks will be honing in on your domain…what does this mean for the future of work?

One compelling and confidence-building idea bubbles to the surface: Our supply-side economy functions in a way where the more rare the skills, the more they are valued. And I posit that those rare skills will continue to associate with Emotional Intelligence; qualities like empathy, insight, intuition, emotional maturity, active listening, humor, spontaneity and improvisation. Essentially, all the things that make us flawed, fragile, and emotional wrecks as a species are also the qualities of humanity that allow us to engage one another on that uniquely human level.

Look at it this way, who makes a killing in today’s economy? Sport phenoms who can manage the stress to hit three-pointers in a clinch play, entertainment savants who can delight us with movement or touch our emotions with song, or the great storytellers of our age, the movie directors. And finally, the CEOs – the visionary communicators who can imagine an unseen future, articulate that vision, and engage the hearts and heads of their team to make it a reality. These gifted people are rewarded quite well in our economy.

I think that the next era won’t be scary or bleak…unless we can’t find out how to create value for others, communicate and connect, or discipline ourselves to action. The next era holds promise, but we have to rise to the occasion and embrace our humanity to capture it.

So here's a question: What are you focusing on, improving, and cultivating to prepare your team for the next era?

You know what a Jinxed Client is. We’ve all had them. Nothing seems to go right with them no matter what you do. In his blog, I’ll outline what I think is happening with these disaster magnets and how to deal with them.

You know the wind-up – but only after the fact. Things start off slightly weird, a little rocky. Something is off but we’re not entirely sure what. Like a stone in the shoe. So we carry on. We persevere. And whether it’s pride, fear, or some sense of obligation, it doesn’t matter; this one client has the mark of the devil on them.

And so everything possible goes wrong.

It’s almost like the universe itself is conspiring against you. No matter what you do, the name on some deliverable is misspelled or wrong entirely, timelines are botched, files are misplaced; from the most mundane to the most calamitous. Somehow, for some inexplicable reason, this ONE client seems to be attracting all the worst aspects of your client experience. They catch every single process gap, they snare every single possible goof up. They snatch failure from the jaws of success. And the more we work to resolve the issues and pacify them, the deeper we go.

My belief is that this Jinxed Client Phenomenon is created, in large part, by the client. Whether or not they are consciously aware, my experience is that this is a by-product of buyer’s remorse but the client is passing the responsibility of failure on to you.

Once they feel the regret they sort of attract negativity in order to validate their perceptions. They need to be proven right so they literally seek out the problems, wait for them to happen, or hyper-focus on small things to catch a mistake. It’s a form of bias confirmation (the idea that we seek out validation for our preconceived ideas) and you’re on the poopy end of it.

Here’s what we do about it.

Lock up your systems. The less confident you feel about your procedures the easier it is to take a simple human error and allow it get to you. We all make mistakes but when you know your process is mostly lumpy it’s easier to get emotional, blame yourself or your team, and spiral into self-doubt.

Tell the truth. Instead of getting caught up in the drama, get some distance, look objectively at the situation and ask yourself these questions:

Are more mistakes happening with this one client than normal?

Does the client seem to feel vindicated or justified whenever a mistake is made (almost like they want you to fail)?

Do you feel fear, anger, or resentment? Those are dangerous emotions to have for someone you’re supposed to be helping.

Come clean. You can have a few minutes worth of pain by exiting the relationship, or you can have months…maybe years of it. What’s the true cost of not addressing this on your terms? Do you really think things will improve? Will this client refer? Could they ever sue you? Stop, breathe, think.

Review and revise: Every cycle with a client provides the opportunity to improve your processes. Ask yourself and your team questions about what was positive, what was negative, and what can be done to improve the next encounter. Flow chart the steps and seek out gaps. Try to place bottlenecks at the front of the process and if needed, get some outside help. Fresh eyes can make a difference.

The Jinxed Client Phenomenon isn’t just something you’ve had to face. Everyone has been there from time to time. Don’t allow these toxic relationships to fester and transform into something lethal. Just be honest with yourself, your team and most importantly, your client and move on.

If “success at all costs” still sounds like a good idea then you haven’t really become successful.

Are you feeling out of balance? Wondering how to chase those big goals of yours without harming your success as a parent, spouse, friend, or merely as a person? It’s not at all that uncommon to feel pulled in a million directions. In fact, for many of the top 1% entrepreneurs we serve, finding balance is an ongoing challenge that causes a lot of pain, health issues, marital discord, and an empty feeling that the success they have isn’t all that fulfilling after all.

We are told about delegation. We are told about technology leverage. We are told about time management. Most damaging: We are told that growth alone will somehow solve our balance problems and that hitting bigger numbers will fix everything.

But those things aren’t solving the problem for successful people. So, where’s the snag?

Here’s the deal: You built a Business Model right? Gross Revenues come in on top, then you deduct Cost of Goods and Overhead and whatever is left over is what we call Profit. Works well with a business. There is unlimited opportunity with the top number and if you are shrewd about the way you run your organization, the number that’s left on the bottom – the Profit margin - can be healthy.

When it comes to your Time, Focus, and Energy however, there simply isn’t an unlimited amount. In fact, these items are quite finite but we work the model the same way – Time, Focus and Energy are poured into the top of the funnel of the business and whatever is left over is what the kids, spouse, friends, and individual themselves has to work with. And for too many entrepreneurs they discover those margins are shrinking with their success, not growing.

The more successful the business owner becomes the more the business demands and the less TIME, FOCUS, and ENERGY they have “left over” for anything else.

Here’s the solution and it’s radical, it’s uncommon, and it’s definitely not something you’ll hear in the circles where “success at all costs” still sounds like a good idea: Start backwards.

Start with a LIFE MODEL first and create a rules-based system for planning your time, defining your lifestyle, and considering the options to manage and continue to grow.

Here are a few of the unusual and refreshing ideas that some of our clients have embraced because of this thinking:

Hiring a CEO and delegating all the “management” to someone else

Taking tons of days off the calendar right in the beginning of the year

Bringing in a junior and beginning to pass the baton

Finding a partner and carving up the responsibilities

Taking a pay cut. WHAT? Yes seriously.

NOT growing aggressively but instead taking a slower approach

I can’t know what’s best for you and your lifestyle. It’s totally your choice and your opportunity to decide. But if what you’re doing isn’t getting you (or the people you care about) what you need, consider questioning the strategy altogether - not just your tactics. Stop working the problem with the business getting fed first and instead, start with a vision for your life and work the business around it.

Wisdom, rather than products, information, or knowledge, has become the most prized commodity in the 21st Century. Why? Because wisdom is the glue. It’s the “how” and the “why” that empowers and directs all of those “what's” out there. Without it, we cannot function effectively, cannot manage change adroitly and cannot navigate the extraordinary shifts in our civilization that have occurred in the span of less than twenty-five years. Wisdom is the single greatest asset you possess and a prized advantage for your ideal market if you can identify, package and monetize it well.

This is the shift - top down to WisdomDriven

In fact, in the face of the extraordinary changes that have occurred, the very survival of your business is based on becoming a wisdom-centered enterprise. No other business structure or perspective provides you with as much power, control, and the flexibility to navigate today’s choppy waters of commerce.

By building your organization with wisdom at its heart, you can differentiate and sell your services or products easier, you can unify, train and motivate your team better and transform the relationships you have with your clients into those of collaboration, mutual education, and insight development. Building a Wisdom Driven Practice might be a path to survival in some regards but for many others, it is the most direct route to an incredible expression of their natural gifts and wondrous financial reward.

A success secret of the top entrepreneurs I know: To achieve goals, focus your eyes (and your mind) only on what you want.

So imagine the scenario: I’m with a client and friend of mine in Deer Valley. Years before, he’d bought the house of a former NFL star on the side of the valley facing the resorts and we were staying there working on his book.

He’s a great guy and thoughtfully wanted to make a fun visit for me by including some ski time. So there I was on the back porch of his house looking out over the breathtaking view of Deer Valley on a bright morning. Bunny Slopes were promised so I could “remember” my skills…but as luck would have it; in order to get to those nicely groomed slopes, I would have to navigate a pretty treacherous ravine of Black Diamond switchbacks off his back deck.

I was adorned in mostly borrowed ski attire and some odds and ends I’d rented or purchased in town. I hadn’t been on the slopes in over a decade and even then I wasn’t a highly proficient skier. To make matters worse, I’m not known for my coordination or athleticism and in my oversized hodge-podge gear, I felt very much like I must have looked - like homeless skier about to commit suicide.

In business as in skiing (apparently), even the most conservative,
risk-adverse players can sometimes face monumental obstacles. As small business owners, we face financial issues, competitive risks, the loss of key people, and the strategic miscalculations that come from doing too much too quickly. It’s part of the risks and part of the fun…but it can sometimes be deadly. So how do you attack the hill when the risks you take can put the people you’re responsible for in harms way?

And so there I was, weighing my options. This little ravine of skiing might leave me with a broken leg or a broken back and I knew it. I could feel the fear creep in and it was paralyzing me. My host saw the look on my face and gave me advice that I’ve never forgotten:

“Your skis will follow your eyes. So if you see something you don’t want to hit like a tree or a rock and you focus on it, you’ll ski right into it. Put your eyes on where you want to go and your skis will follow.”

Sometimes worry can feel like mental prep for managing a bad situation in the future. Sometimes, though, it’s just plain lazy. Keep your mind focused on what you DO want and stay vigilant about the worries. If you find that you are fixating on negative scenarios, you’ll attract them like gravity.

So yes, I skied down the ravine. I lived. I’m not proud of the sounds I made while I was doing it (something akin to a baby deer being separated from its mama) but I lived. I kept my skis facing downhill, my gaze on the path ahead and it’s a lesson that’s served me ever since.

Would it surprise you to learn that some of the most successful entrepreneurs (those in the top ½ - ¼% income-earning arena) struggle with setting and accomplishing goals? It’s a dirty little secret that isn’t openly talked about, but it’s true. Here the three most prevalent concerns we hear about goal setting:

“I never know where to begin. I either create a goal from out of nowhere, aim at a slightly bigger version of the same goals I did last year, or I just pick something because I’m supposed to. Ends up being a waste of time.”

“Setting goals narrows my focus and prevents me from opening myself up to other possibilities, so I don’t do it.”

“I either can’t hit some goals because I set them poorly or the goals change along the way - which means I can’t report a win there either. ”

What’s a superior model for goal setting so it’s less of a confidence killer, and a more rewarding experience during the period where you are chasing your goals? Here are the five key elements we’ve recognized to improve your enjoyment and achievement with goal setting:

ONE: The Goal-Law Combination

“Goals” are fixed items while “laws” are the underlying behaviors, mindsets and activities that must occur consistently to achieve the goal. A good combination for a goal and law example is a marathon. The goal might read, “on such and such date, I will run the Chicago Marathon”. The law may be, “I’m creating a lifestyle of health, positivity, and discipline with a heavy focus on getting lots of sleep, a clean diet, and daily, cardio-centered exercise.”

TWO: The Anatomy of a Goal

Second, we believe strong and achievable goals follow the S.M.A.R.T. goal format developed by George T. Doran. The S.M.A.R.T is an acronym begins with the “s” to address that goals must be Specific. Second, they must be Measurable. They also have to be Achievable, they must be Reasonable, and finally good, solid goals must be Time Related.

THREE: The Power of Laws

Third, it is important to craft laws of behavior attached to the goal that serve as statements of truth. The byproduct is that you’ll more enjoy the time period before goal achievement and even hasten the goal into manifestation by virtue of emotional alignment with the future state.

Example: Instead of only addressing the fixed target: “By 2018, our revenues will be $15MM”. Try adding something like this, “We enjoy a disciplined and well-supported sales culture that enables us to grow towards a $15MM revenue target. ”

FOUR: The Waypoint

Fourth, set smaller milestones, what we call Waypoints, that can punctuate the path. These are not merely a way to break the goal into smaller steps…they also provide the opportunity to look back at progress made and celebrate it.

FIVE: Surrender and Allow

Finally, once you’ve documented your goals, remove from yourself the focus on trying to hit the target and instead place your full attention and passion on being in a mindset that allows the goal to arise.

Become the person and the company that conducts the activities your bigger vision requires before you arrive and you’ll dramatically change the experience and outcome potential.

The Goal

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.
Henry David Thoreau, American author and philosopher

The paradoxical thing about goals is that they plant a seed in our minds that essentially says, “When I get here (accomplish this, make this, do that) things will be better”. To avoid that danger, enjoy the ride, and achieve more with a grace and confidence – remember to plan carefully and build a goal format that helps you, your team (and your ever-attentive mind), view this moment as the best and most powerful place to begin.

Jon LoDuca is President and CEO of The Wisdom Link and resident Goal Herder